Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said he was not ready to make announcements about providing combat aircraft to Ukraine. He stated this following a meeting of the Western group for the coordination of military assistance to Kyiv on Tuesday, February 14.
“On the aircraft issue, I don’t have any announcements on this as of today,” the US Secretary of Defense said, adding that Washington “does not deter other countries from providing Kiev with any military capabilities.”
He also noted that the United States and allies continue to assess the needs of Kyiv and expect the activation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) in the spring.
At the same time, Austin added that Russia “still has a significant stock of combat aircraft and capabilities in the air.”
Earlier in the day, the head of the Pentagon also said that NATO countries should provide Ukraine not only with new weapons, but also with integrated military assistance.
Austin also stressed that the coalition for the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine is growing. According to the head of the Pentagon, it has already included such countries as Germany, Denmark, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Portugal. According to him, the Ukrainian authorities also pledged to deliver the transferred equipment to the front line.
Earlier that day, the tenth meeting of the contact group on arming Kyiv in the Ramstein format was held in Brussels. On the agenda of the discussion were such issues as the protection of the Ukrainian sky, including with the help of an aviation platform; the development of a “tank coalition”; formation of safety margins for ammunition; Ukrainian military training; logistics, repair and maintenance of weapons.
On February 8, during a visit to London, during a speech in the British Parliament, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky asked to supply combat aircraft to Kyiv. He said that the fighters would become “wings of freedom”, and also called for increased sanctions against Russia.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned Western supplies to Kyiv and pointed out that they could lead to a serious escalation of the conflict. So, on February 1, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, expressed confidence that statements about the supply of fighter jets to Kiev would only increase the “irrepressible appetite of the Zelensky regime” and lead to an escalation of the conflict.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kyiv against the backdrop of a special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbass, the decision on which was made against the backdrop of aggravation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
